> The thing is the Agilis 51's are "all seasons" not true snow tires. I > almost never drive my syncro in the winter so I never saw a need. The > few times I have had the syncro out in the snow shes been VERY sure > footed. > So assuming I don't have true snows are chains the way to go? How can > I tell in advance if a road will require chains? There are three > places I worried about: > > 1) Montana Route 89 into yellowstone (the north route into the park) > 2) Idaho Routes 191, 20, 33, and 22 between Big Sky MT and Jackson.WY > 3) Oregon Routes 140, 395, and 20 between southern OR and i84 The (old) Agilis 61s (185R14) on my syncro are "all weather" and have "M+S" on the sidewall. But not the snowflake that marks true winter tires. They are fine on the syncro. I'd never think of chains around here. I used to use chains frequently on my '81 air-cooled with the same tires. Cable chains, for sure. Any radial tire likes cable chains better than "chain" chains. Check: http://www.mdt.mt.gov/travinfo/tire_restrictions.shtml http://www.tripcheck.com/Pages/RCMap.asp?mainNav=RoadConditions&staticNav=TractionTires for info from Montana and Oregon. Montana is like Colorado--M+S is OK--because the snow is like ours--dry. Oregon wants chains when it is really bad--or tires with the snowflake designation. My syncro manuals state it is preferable to use chains on all four tires, but if only two, then the rear tires. So you could buy a set of cable chains for your rears as protection. I would head out with my M+S tires and figure I'd be fine. Again, stopping is the problem and you have to drive accordingly. Richard A Jones Boulder, Colorado |
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